The present invention relates to an ultraviolet air filtration system for use in connection with air-conditioning systems. It is a well known problem that airborne bacteria and other microorganisms contaminate the air we breathe and the environments we live in. It is also known that exposing the air we breathe to ultraviolet (UV) light provides a germicidal cleaning affect to thereby make the air healthier to breathe. It is further known in the field of air, conditioning that manufactured homes tend to have poor air filtration systems and as such, the air is frequently contaminated with various pollutants, such as mold, pet dander, bacteria, chemical and biological odors, and viruses. In this respect, manufactured homes tend to have poor air filtration due to space limitations usually associated with them, which therefore prevents the installation of good air filtration equipment without high costs to the consumer.
Typically, manufactured homes utilize two different air-conditioning arrangements, the first being a packaged system and the second being a split system. The packaged system provides all of the air-conditioning components within a single enclosure. This enclosure is typically positioned outside of the manufactured home and uses air ducting to facilitate an exchange of air between the enclosure and the internal space of the manufactured home.
A split system places various components of the air-conditioning system outside of the home and other components of the air-conditioning system inside the home. With this arrangement, the air-handling components of the air-conditioning system are positioned within the house, while other components, such as the compressor and condenser, are placed outside of the home.
To overcome the problems relating to contaminated air, there have been various attempts to provide air filtration systems utilizing (UV) light for destroying such air borne material as mentioned above. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,158, which issued to Elmore, discloses an air handler that discourages and prohibits the growth of undesirable microorganisms by providing an ultraviolet light source. The UV light source is positioned within the air handler in the flow path of air being forced therethrough by a blower. However, while the Elmore '158 patent is functional for its intended purpose, it does not provide a separate unit which can be easily installed in-line with an existing air-conditioning system, thereby necessitating a complete expensive replacement of an existing air handler.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,511, which issued to Matschke and which discloses an ultraviolet light emitting device for germicidally cleaning air passing through a duct system. The device can be used to replace one or more sections of an existing duct and, in essence, becomes part of the duct work. However, the Matschke'511 patent does not provide for particulate filtration in combination with ultraviolet filtration, and additionally, the modification of the existing duct work as disclosed in this patent could be very time consuming and costly.
Similarly, United States patent application 20020104972 to Guzorek discloses an ultraviolet air-purifying device for installation into existing duct work. However, the invention disclosed in the Guzorek application does not provide a complete and separate system for installation in-line with duct work, and as such, existing duct work would need be modified to accept this device. This is a draw back with a manufactured home in that it is difficult to access the air-conditioning duct work due to the construction methods of the home. In addition to this, if it is ever desired to remove the ultraviolet air purifying device from the modified duct work, the portion of the duct work that was modified to accept the device would have to be replaced or repaired.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,167, which issued to Wetzel, discloses a room air sterilizer that includes an ultraviolet lamp for radiating air passing through the sterilizer. The sterilizer illustrated in this patent is a self-contained, wall mounted unit that it is not used in conjunction with an air-conditioning system. Additionally, it would be undesirable to use this system with a manufactured home due to the size of the unit and the space limitations present with such homes.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a compact air filtration system that combines the benefits of good particulate filtration in combination with ultraviolet radiation into one device, wherein the device may be removably installed in-line with the ductwork of an existing air-conditioning system without substantial modification.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that a need exists for a new and improved air filtration system that can be used with existing air-conditioning systems without substantial modification to existing ductwork for purifying the air flowing therethrough. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. More particularly, the air filtration system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of being easily installed in-line with existing air-conditioning systems.